This itinerary, pricing and escorts are subject to change. Insurance is available and highly recommended. Single rates are available upon request. Please consult the Terms and Conditions, as they apply starting with the first payment.
A 3% discount applies off the cost of the trip, if the trip is paid in full by check with in 7-10 business days of invoice date. Gratuities are additional and will be collected with final payment. All prices listed are in USD unless otherwise noted.

TRIP-AT-A-GLANCE

OPTIONAL TOURS

ABOUT BONNIE

TESTIMONIALS

PACKAGE INCLUDES:

Round-trip International airfare from the New York to Dublin.

All taxes and roundtrip transfers to and from the hotels.

Private deluxe motor coach and driver.

First-class hotel accommodations in Galway, Killarney & Dublin.

Daily breakfast and some dinners.

Sightseeing and shopping in Galway and Dublin.

A visit to the famous Cliffs of Moher.

An optional tour to Connemara Region to visit the Connemara marble shop and Celtic Crystal Factory.

A visit to the award-winning village of Adare.

A tour of St. Kevin’s Monastic Settlement.

An optional tour of Kylemore Abbey and Gardens.

A visit to Ross Castle.

A tour of the port town of Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula.

Shopping & sightseeing in Avoca.

A visit to the Blarney Woolen Mills and Castle.

A professional tour guide the entire time.

A Professional Craftours escort the entire time.

Workshops with our special guest, Bonnie Hunter.

Craftours Lanyard, luggage tag, and commemorative gift.

IRELAND HIGHLIGHTS:

Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Ireland's principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Act of Union in 1800. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy and industry.

Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. They rise 120 metres above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and reach their maximum height of 214 metres just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres to the north. The tower is a round stone tower near the midpoint of the cliffs built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O'Brien. From the cliffs and from atop the tower, visitors can see the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, the Maumturks and Twelve Pins mountain ranges to the north in County Galway, and Loop Head to the south. The cliffs rank are amongst the top visited tourist sites in Ireland, and receive almost one million visitors a year.

Bunratty Castle
Bunratty Castle is a large 15th century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village, between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage as tourist attractions.

The present castle, was built by the MacNamara family after around 1425. Its builder may have been one Maccon Sioda MacNamara, chieftain of Clann Cuilein (i.e. the MacNamaras). He died before the castle was completed which happened under his son Sean Finn (died in 1467). At around 1500, Bunratty Castle came into the hands of the O'Briens (or O'Brians), the most powerful clan in Munster and later Earls of Thomond. They expanded the site and eventually made it their chief seat, moving it there from Ennis.

Galway Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Galway, Ireland, and is one of the largest and most impressive buildings in the city.

The Mill at Avoca Village
The Mill is a clothing manufacturing, retail and food business in Ireland. Started in Avoca, County Wicklow, it is the oldest working woollen mill in Ireland and one of the world's oldest manufacturing companies. It is also Ireland's oldest surviving business.

Optional Tours:

Kylemore Abbey & Gardens
Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I. The current Mother Abbess of the Benedictine Community is Mary Margaret Funk.

Connemara Marble Shop
Stephen Walsh and his family will welcome you to Connemara marble. His family have worked the beautiful, green Connemara marble for three generations and take great pride in the Irish jewelry and Irish gifts that they produce.

Connemara marble is over 900 Million years old and is unique to Ireland. They own and operate the oldest marble quarry, which was first opened in the 19th Century, and visited in 1903 by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra during the Royal tour of Connemara.

Celtic Crystal Factory
Celtic Crystal was founded in 1972. This family-run business has been pioneering the incorporation of Celtic Designs and Gaelic Motifs into its ornate Irish Crystal and it is proud to claim leadership in this field.

Today, this tradition is continued by our talented and creative yound Irish crafts people; reproducing the culture and history of Ireland by crafting the unique and intricate designs that are synonymous with Ireland's Celtic heritage on our exquisite crystal pieces.

The cost of this optional tour is $86.00 pp.

BONNIE HUNTER

Bonnie K Hunter is passionate about quilt quilting, focusing mainly on scrap quilts with the simple feeling of “making do”. She started her love affair with quilting in a home economics class her senior year of high school in 1980 and has never looked back. Before quilting became her full time career, Bonnie was the owner and designer of ""Needle in a Haystack!", creating more than 70 patterns for dolls and stuffed animals with a country primitive feel.

Many of her designs were licensed through the Butterick Pattern Company, translated into 7 languages and sold around the globe through fabric stores. But quilting has always been Bonnie’s first love. She has been machine quilting since 1989 and professionally long arm quilting for the public since 1995, retiring in 2009 when she no longer had the time due to her teaching, traveling and writing schedule. She has been featured in magazines both for her quilt patterns and articles she has written on scrap management and using that stash to its full potential.

Bonnie received the 2012 “Teacher of the Year” award through a global internet poll hosted via Sew Cal Gal, and was completely flabbergasted, not to mention honored and humbled at the same time.

Dedicated to continuing the traditions of quilting, Bonnie enjoys meeting with quilters, teaching workshops and lecturing to quilt guilds all over the world, challenging quilters to break the rules, think outside the box, and find what brings them joy.

When not traveling and teaching, she spends her time piecing scrap quilts, enjoying the peaceful reward of English paper piecing and hand quilting as much as machine work, and loving life in her wooded surroundings in beautiful rural Wallburg, North Carolina, a suburb of Winston-Salem. She and her husband, Dave are the proud parents of two grown sons, Jason, and Jeffrey. They round out their household with Sadie the dog and two cats –Emmy Lou, who loves life inside only, and Chloe who only loves life on the outside—keeping Bonnie company while she designs, quilts and plays happily with her fabric.

Bonnie also writes a regular column for Quiltmaker Magazine entitled "Addicted to Scraps" with the main intention to help you to put various aspects of your own Scrap Users System to good use!

Bonnie’s favorite motto? “The Best Things in Life are Quilted!!” of course!

TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST IRELAND TOURS:

Barbara Stanbro, Hillsboro, OR- "I attended the International Quilt Festival of Ireland in 2012, and I had a fabulous time. The hotels were lovely, the destinations interesting, and our tour guide/bus driver couldn’t have been more charming or knowledgeable. It was a wonderful trip and I have many good memories."

Dr. Jo Barnes, Hamilton, New Zealand - "This was my very first organized tour and I was a little apprehensive about spending 15 days with people I did not know with a tour company I had found by accident on the internet. BUT my friend Bev and I had an amazing time we had fun, we saw lots of new and exciting places, we visited some quilting stores and met some really nice people. The hotel accommodation was excellent, the bus was comfortable and the meals were varied and of good quality. I would recommend Sew Many Places tours every time and I am looking forward to the South American Expedition in 2015."

Nancy and Ken Burkhalter, Chelsea, MI- "My hubby and I had an absolutely wonderful trip sponsored by Sew Many Places to tour Ireland and the 1st International Quilt Festival in Galway in 2012. It was a small group, and we really loved that tour. We are still in touch with many of the others who were on our tour. Very well organized! Great places to see, great places to stay, great quilt festival - wonderful time. It was our 50th wedding anniversary trip - so we went on to Paris after to have our final celebration!"

Jill Lombard, Carlsbad, CA-" I was on the Ireland tour in Summer of 2013 with Bonnie Hunter. I can’t say enough about the wonderful experience I had. Examples include havingSewMany Places arrange a room mate for me (a dear lady from Canada), arranging my air reservations and seating me next to "new" friends, being met at the airport by the most charming coach drivers, arranging truly "first class" accommodations in every town, offering wonderful sightseeing opportunities and historical information.

As with any major undertaking such as planning and executing a trip of this magnitude "hiccups" do happen. I was so impressed with the staff of Sew Many Places. When problems arose there was always one and often more to the "rescue" to make things right.

I have recommended Sew Many Places to all my guild friends and would love the opportunity to take more (and more) trips!"

Suzanne Novoselac, Coulterville, IL -"My daughter and I went on the trip to Ireland in 2008, and we had a completely wonderful time! My daughter does not sew or quilt, but she does do other forms of needlework, and she enjoyed herself very much. I’m a knitter and crocheter, and I enjoyed the trips to the woolen mill at Blarney and the weaving at Acoa (sp) near Dublin. Our tour host was excellent, we loved our bus driver, and both of us want to buy a place at the Dingle Peninsula! All in all, it was a never-to-be forgotten experience, and we are both just dying to go to Ireland again!"

Bonnie Bloom, Duncansville, PA - "I was on one of your trips to Ireland with my sister. I was amazed at the care that was taken to make our trip flawless. Everything was seen to and everyone was so friendly it was a memory I will treasure forever."

Mr. & Mrs. Jon Schroder, Sweet Home, OR - "My husband and I truly had a trip of a lifetime visiting Ireland. We also received souvenirs that to this day remind me of the fun we had and the nice people we met including a few notables! Since our trip, every Christmas I hang ornaments on our tree that were swapped with fellow travelers... wool boots from Russia, a star from France and an Angel from New Zealand to name a few. The venues, traveling (great bus driver!), food, accommodations, all of it couldn’t be better. After arriving home my husband and I agreed that we could not have planned it better than Sew Many Places."

Jan Bechle, Albany,Oregon-"In April of 2010, I traveled to Ireland with Sew Many Places. I was with three friends, two of us were celebrating our retirement. The night we flew to Ireland was the same night the volcano blew in Iceland stopping all air traffic in Europe and across the Atlantic for a week. Sew Many Places planned ahead, making arrangements for us to stay on in Dublin if we needed to at a very reasonable rate. The flying ban was lifted the day we were to leave and we were delighted to be able to leave on time.

The entire trip was very well organized. We had a delightful bus driver, interesting tours and the time to do some wandering on our own. The four of us had a wonderful time and made new friends. I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with them again."

Trena Stephens, Missouri City, TX-"What a great trip to the IQFOI in June of 2012! Our coach driver/tour guide was fun & entertaining. The accommodations were luxurious & comfortable. The food was fabulous.

The countryside was picturesque & breath taking. The quilts were beautiful & inspirational. Thanks for a wonderful time."

Karen and Mike Holt, Grand Junction, CO- "My husband and I went on a Sew Many Places Tour to Ireland for the International Quilt Festival in 2012 and LOVED it. We both has so much fun. The hotels we stayed in were marvelous, our bus driver and tour guide took such good care of us, Ireland is amazing and beautiful and fun and the people are wonderful. There were plenty of events for my husband to sign up and do while I was at the quilt show so he was happy and having fun too. The quilt show was great fun and I took a wonderful class there from a native Irish woman, using all Irish wools. We had the time of our lives and would love to go again - SOON! Thank you Sew Many Places!"

Mary Mulcahey, Lake Forest, GA- "The Ireland tour was absolutely wonderful. I would sign up again in a heartbeat."

Sarah Ruth Bridges, Moultrie, GA- "Absolutely fantastic! One of the best coach tours that I have been on. Our driver/tour guide was wonderful. I would go again."

Mary Kent Davidson, Cochran, GA- "The trip to Ireland was even better than my expectations! We were matched with a wonderful driver/tour guide, Derrick, who added so much to what was already there. Wish it had not ended!"

Mary Lavold, Pensacola, FL- "I was very impressed that every thing ran smoothly"

Suzanne Leimer, Moultrie, GA - "Wonderful experience. I wanted to stay another week and repeat everything. I would like to return. Sew Many Places is top notch."

Bonnie Kipp, West Palm Beach, FL - "It was a fantastic trip. Very well done ! Everyone was so friendly and everything seemed to be very well planned."

Caren Duggan, Susanville, CA - "Our trip to Ireland was WONDERFUL! Enjoyed the many beautiful sights. We had excellent accommodations. Our driver, Derek Ryan, was a wealth of history and local information. I hope to go to Ireland again, as soon as possible."

Louise Caron, Valleyview, Alberta- "Fantastic! A week is a bit short, 10-14 days would be ideal!"

Shannon Reed-Michon, Sunset House, Alberta- "Very magical tour. Great overview of what Ireland had to offer."

Kathy Dunn, Red Deer County, Alberta- "This is a wonderful overview of the Republic of Ireland. All of the highlights this country has to offer have been showcased in this lovely 10 day trip!"

Bonnie Trottier, Valleyview, Alberta- "My first time ever abroad was a wonderful experience. Someone asked what my favorite part of the trip was and I must say the people. It’s all about those connections with people. The Irish and their country are truly wonderful."

Marilyn Kennedy, Englewood, FL - "It was well planned and an exceptional trip."

LINDA EVANS, Farmington Hills, MI - "The trip to Ireland was the wonderful! It was well planned and executed. I would encourage all my friends and family to take this trip."

Ami Peterson, Albuquerque, NM- "This was a wonderful way to whet your appetite about Ireland and travelling on bus tours in general."

Rebecca Gallen, Northway, AK- "I thoroughly enjoyed the planned out trip! Ireland was not my first choice of a country to visit, but I enjoyed the whole tour."

Joan Durbin -
"Our trip to Ireland in 2012 was everything a dream trip should be. Excellent accommodations, great tour bus and driver, well planned. Itinerary and options for "side trips". I am anxious for another trip."

Marilyn Harding, Greenwood, IN- "The trip was perfectly planned. The escorts, Pam Holland and Brian Haggard were amusing and very congenial. Our driver, DB, was the icing on the cake. DB was funny and very knowledgeable. I spent a lot of the trip laughing. Isn’t fun the objective of a vacation?"

Kathy Heydorn, Willoughby, Ohio - "Fabulous trip! We saw so many areas of Ireland, not just the standard tourist areas. The crafts were excellent."

Lorraine Brown, Plainwell, Michigan - "This was a great trip! Especially the sheep farm, what a visit! The crystal visit was enlightening, spent too much!"

Marlys Wiens, Edina, Minnesota - "The people of Ireland taught/confirmed the importance of taking care of the earth. There is history back to BC to the present (environmental issues (making ethanol on their farms to turning off your lights every time you left your room) and all the sheep and Holstein cows as we drove through the country side in the many shades of green pastures and trees. All surrounded with blue water of the Atlantic Ocean."

Lisa Schicker, Johnson Creek, Wisconsin - "I really enjoyed this trip. I felt that the trip included just the right combination of workshops and site seeing. I loved how relaxed this trip was and how friendly everyone was. I felt that Jennifer was a great instructor and this trip really inspired my creative side."

Hazel Furst, East Northport, New York - "This was a wonderful tour. It was well planned, and the tour guides altered the agenda as needed and made it even better."

Grace Weiss, Glendale, New York - "The Emerald Isle Tour was the best trip I've ever taken."

Peggy Mott, San Antonio, Texas - "An informative, and entertaining tour. Our tour guide and the bus driver went over and above to see that we were entertained and well cared for. Jennifer Ryan, the instructor was well organized with her course materials and went out of her way to not only explain the technique but to make adjustments and adaptions for those of us who had vision, hearing and other physical problems."

Danny Olivia, Port St. Lucie, Florida - "too short, fun, new family"

Jessica Mileto, Glendale, New York - "The tour guides were amazing, they were so knowledgeable, friendly, easy-going and it helped that the entire trip was already planned and all I had to do was catch the bus in the morning. Amazing country, amazing people and I am so grateful I chose to come along."

Carrie Pearsall, Seattle, Washington - "It was terrific. I had a great time. All the visits & activities were a lot of fun. The time went so fast."

Ellen Gormley, North Bend, Ohio - "Craftours made the trip very easy by handling all the details!"

Shereen Prochnow, - "This was an amazing trip! I love history, so it was great to be able to visit a lot of the castles and cathedrals that are several hundred years old. The hands on scone making was also a highlight."

Terri Englehaupt, Rochester, Minnesota - "It was a wonderful time. Enjoyed the crochet portion, but going to Ireland was such a thrill for me. I'm digging up all of the genealogy I have & will continue working on it, now that I have visited where my family once lived!"

Jean Mejerle, Woodruff, Wisconsin - "The tour was grand! We covered a lot of territory in the time available! Agnes, the tour guide, and Brendan, the bus driver, couldn't have been nicer. I'll certainly look at more Craftours!"

Marilee McQuarrie, Wallawalla, Washington - "The tour itself was wonderful. Our guide, Agnes and bus driver, Con, were fantastic people who knew the area and history. We completely enjoyed the trip."

Meg Brotnov, Bellingham, Washington - "Ireland is a beautiful land of endless history. Craftours allowed us to visit as many places as possible in a short amount of time. The hotels were excellent and dinners superb! Our guide, Agnus was lovely and kept us organized and driver, Con very informative about the area. There was so much to see and so much history to absorb that I often didn't catch it all."

Sharon E. Posey, Everett, Washington - "I had a fabulous trip to Ireland, Agnes Warren was an excellent tour guide. The bus driver Con O'Leary also was an educated bus driver who informed of the history of Ireland."

Besime Brierton, Burke, VA - "Lovely trip. Ireland is a beautiful country, but Agnes and Con really made the trip special. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, they made sure we saw plenty and had a great experience."

Holly Brown, Ave Maria, FL - "The treasures of Ireland tour was amazing. My soul was invigorated. I have never seen so many different shades of green. I loved all the history and folk lore. Agnes and Con were a fantastic team. They are both a wealth of knowledge. My sister and I are already planning another trip."

Ellen MacLaughlin, Midland, MI - "Great tour guides, Agnes and Con."

Joni Ostroff, Orlando, FL - "Thoroughly enjoyed Ireland."

Joann Przygocki, Bay City, MI - "I can't begin to say how wonderful this tour was! Agnes and Con are such an incredible team! They made the trip worth every dollar!"

Kris Young, Fredricksburg, VA - "This was my first tour - it was amazing. Con who was our driver had a wealth of information that just made you want to squeeze his brain so you could get all that information. He was very professional and beyond nice! Agnes - she was like family. She ran a tight ship but in such a caring way and was able to get everyone where we needed to be. They both went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. They offered things that were not on the itinerary but on the way. They are both a major asset to Craftours and because of them, I would definately book a tour with you again."

Diane Felice, St. Augustine, FL - "Since this was my first tour with any company, I am very pleased to have taken with Craftours! Everything was thought out in advance and nothing was left to wonder about. I most certainly will be taking more tours in the future as I can! I have already been searching what is available and when they are so I don't miss out!!"

Cecelia Waye, Avon, IN - "The tour was a trip of a lifetime. I have so many wonderful memories. The itinerary was thoughtfully planned so that we were able to make the most of our time while there. I would highly recommend this trip!!"